The Show Must Go On—Even With Flu Symptoms

Most of the time, Broadway actors are merely annoyed by sniffles and wheezes from the seats. But a virulent New York flu season means performers have more to fear than audiences' badly timed coughs.

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Barry Kohn, right, gives a flu shot to actor Daniel Stern, who is currently performing in 'The Other Place.'
Bryan Derballa for The Wall Street Journal

For John Michael Dias, who just finished a three-week run as Frankie Valli in "Jersey Boys," the germy threat to his onstage stint seemed to be everywhere—even inside his apartment. "I have a roommate who's a pediatrician at New York Presbyterian," he said, "and every night she comes home with fresh baby germs. What am I thinking?"

Fearing the winter mélange of maladies that actors call "the crud" is an annual rite of passage under Broadway's bright lights, but the city's severe flu season has fueled extra dread.

Patients with flu-like symptoms now account for about 5% of all city hospital visits, according to latest report from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, more than double the national base line.

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Actress Judy McLane of 'Mama Mia' steams her throat before a show.
Adrienne Grunwald for The Wall Street Journal

Barry Kohn, a retired allergist who makes house calls on Broadway, has administered more than 4,300 flu shots at 140 theater venues since September. He volunteers his time and sees anxious actors at his apartment on Central Park South.

"Everything has broken loose," said Dr. Kohn, who has been a theater-world fixture since before he inspired "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," a 2000 play that was nominated for three Tony awards. "Suddenly the phone is ringing off the hook."

Nicole Bouvier, an internist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine who researches influenza, said a particularly virulent strain had spread in the city this winter. But, she added, the current flu season started earlier than normal and followed a below-average flu year.

"So this year seems to be hitting harder," Dr. Bouvier said.

The show must go on, of course, and performers interviewed this week described a host of homeopathic help for warding off symptoms.

For throat protection, not just any honey will do: Actors suggest manuka honey or honey loquat available at the Westerly Natural Market just off Broadway in Hell's Kitchen, sold in jars with a microphone on the label.

Doubling as a team- and immunity-building tradition, the cast of "Mary Poppins" enjoys a formal tea time during the show's intermission, especially on days with two performances.

"Any of those homeopathic remedies are fine," said Dr. Kohn, "because they all involve you paying close attention to your body, which is always a good idea."

Judy McLane, who plays the titular mama in "Mamma Mia!," keeps a nebulizer in her dressing room and uptown apartment. She uses the throat-steaming device year-round, but it is especially helpful with flu symptoms.

Backstage before each performance, she does her hair and makeup with her mouth clamped to the nebulizer. "Theaters can be such petri dishes," said Ms. McLane, recalling a time when she came into work despite a 102-degree fever.

"Thankfully," she added, "we all have Dr. Footlights," a reference to the actors' superstition that stage lights help the sick to soldier on.

There is a certain amount of stubborn pride in the equation—even to the slight frustration of plucky understudies waiting for the sick call.

"In the theater, nobody wants to give up their performance," said Diane Davis, an understudy for two roles in "Golden Boy" who recently played the part of Anna when star Dagmara Dominczyk fell ill. "You know it's serious. People will perform until they can't get out of bed."

She recounted an episode in a different show a few years ago when a septuagenarian cast member spent the first act and intermission vomiting backstage, only to sweep onto the stage for her role in the second act. Ms. Davis watched as the performer turned away from the audience and discreetly ballooned her cheeks like a bullfrog.

Brendon Stimson, an understudy in "Newsies" with a regular part as a minor character, wears a single leather glove on the subway to avoid germ-covered poles and railings. But his skittishness is counterbalanced by an artistic attitude.

"We're supposed to be orphans living on the streets in 1899," Mr. Stimson said of his hardscrabble role in the musical. "We can cough in character."

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